U.S. District Judge Christopher Cooper, an Obama appointee, sided with the federal workers’ union on Friday, finding that changes made to employee emails violated the First Amendment.
“Nonpartisanship is the bedrock of the federal civil service; it ensures that career government employees serve the public, not the politicians. But by commandeering its employees’ e-mail accounts to broadcast partisan messages, the Department chisels away at that foundation,” Judge Cooper wrote in his ruling. “Political officials are free to blame whomever they wish for the shutdown, but they cannot use rank-and-file civil servants as their unwilling spokespeople. The First Amendment stands in their way. The Department’s conduct therefore must cease.”
The ruling currently applies to unionized Education Department employees who are members of the American Federation of Government Employees (AFGE). However, Cooper signaled that he would expand the order to all affected workers in the agency if it is “technologically impossible” to remove partisan messaging only from AFGE members’ email accounts.
Democracy Forward and the Public Citizen Litigation Group, who represented AFGE in its lawsuit, praised the decision. “This ruling is a major victory for the constitutional rights of the people who serve our country,” said Democracy Forward President Skye Perryman. “Today’s decision makes it clear that civil servants are not a political tool, and it reinforces a fundamental principle: our federal workforce serves the public, not political agendas.”
AFGE President Everett Kelly also welcomed the order, adding that it “makes clear that even this administration is not above the law.”
The government shutdown has now entered its 39th day with no end in sight. Since the lapse in funding began on October 1st, hundreds of thousands of government employees have been furloughed. Others, including air traffic controllers, continue to work without pay.
Over 5,000 flights have been delayed or canceled on the second day of FAA cuts, as Duffy threatens further reductions.
https://www.washingtonexaminer.com/policy/education/3880298/education-department-remove-partisan-language-employees-shutdown-emails/